Good morning.
A longtime Apple finance executive is headed to Sonos to become CFO.
Saori Casey will join the company as its new finance chief effective Jan. 22. Casey succeeds Eddie Lazarus, who will become chief strategy officer and remain chief legal officer.
Casey joins Sonos after serving almost 13 years as VP of finance at Apple. Before that, she spent 15 years at Cisco, holding several finance leadership roles in operations, sales, R&D, FP&A, M&A, and systems. She told me that her main focus for the first 90 days in her new role will be meeting people and learning the business, including "what’s working and what's not before establishing my priorities" en route to building out the company globally.
Sonos, which trades as SONO on the Nasdaq, is a developer and manufacturer of wireless, portable speakers and home sound systems. “The depth and breadth” of Casey’s experience at “world-class companies” makes her well suited to build the company’s momentum, CEO Patrick Spence said in a statement announcing her hire on Tuesday.
Along with all financial functions, Casey will help oversee technology. "The speed of change in the technology field is very exciting," she told me. "It affords you the opportunity to continue to learn and grow in your career, and it's so rewarding to know you’re contributing to something bigger than yourself."
Coming into a CFO role for the first time, is there a particular part of her experience that's prepared her for this next step?
"I’ve navigated my career rounding out various finance experiences," Casey told me. "Most recently, I helped manage Apple’s total company P&L—working closely with the CEO and the CFO and contributed to scaling the company from approximately $65 billion to nearly $400 billion in revenue."
But she also has experience with investor relations and engaging with board members "having worked in the trenches very close to the business with R&D, sales, and operations," which, she added, "will also serve me well."
Casey said that her career goals and aspirations were never about chasing titles. "I always focused on working for the best companies and assuming roles where I’d be best positioned to make the most impact while continuing to learn," she said.
Facing headwinds, Sonos' overall revenue for the full fiscal year of 2023 came in at $1.655 billion, a decline of 5.5% (about $97.1 million) compared with sales of $1.752 billion in fiscal 2022. But the company maintained innovation with new product releases. "As we enter fiscal 2024, we are laser-focused on execution and positioning our business to return to top and bottom line growth when conditions improve,” Spence stated in the company’s fourth-quarter earnings release. But he also hinted at a major product launch, citing an "entry into a new multibillion-dollar category in the second half of the year that will complement our current offering, delight customers, and drive immediate revenue."
That category may be the company’s entry into the headphones arena, competing with Apple and Bose, according to reports. Casey declined to comment further on the matter, but did say she is "excited about our product roadmap and the year ahead." Sonos is making strategic hires as Casey's appointment follows the hires of Dunja LaRosa, who joined as chief revenue officer, and Deirdre Findlay, who joined as chief commercial officer in October.
Reflecting on her new role, Casey also shared with me some of the best career advice she's ever received: "Believe in your instincts, speak up—but stay authentic to your style."
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
